Photo: The billionaire drug baron suspect, Ukatu
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have arrested the billionaire drug baron owner of the N3billion Tramadol deal involving the embattled suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari-led Intelligence Response Team, IRT.
The suspect, Mallinson Emmanuel Ukatu, who is the Chairman of Mallinson Group of Companies, was arrested following months of surveillance and evading arrest.
The NDLEA, which made this known in a statement issued on Monday by Femi Babafemi, its Director, Media and Advocacy, disclosed that the suspect was nabbed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Ikeja on Wednesday 13th April. onboard a flight to Abuja
Babafemi explained that investigations had revealed that the suspect had been a major importer of large consignments of different brands and high dosages of illicit Tramadol Hydrochloride, ranging from 120mg, 200mg, 225mg and 250mg,.
According to the NDLEA spokesman, Ukatu owns pharmaceutical and plastic manufacturing companies, which he used as a cover to import illicit drugs into Nigeria.
This, he said, was in addition to operating 103 bank accounts, most of which were used to launder money.
He said that Ukatu came under the NDLEA’s watch after five cartons of Tramadol 225mg were seized from his staff on 4th May 2021 when he sent them to sell to undercover police officers (unknown to Ukatu) from the then Kyari-led IRT of the Nigeria Police, Ikeja Lagos.
The price of a carton of Tramadol was negotiated at N17million each as against the then black market value that ranged between N18million and N20million a carton in Lagos.
Babafemi further explained that after the arrest of Pius Enidom and Sunday Ibekwete, both being Ukatu’s staffers, Kyaris men were then led by the suspects to Mallinson’s warehouse at Ojota in Lagos where 197 additional Cartons of Tramadol 225mg were seized by the IRT Team.
The monetary value of the 202 cartons of Tramadol seized from Mallinson in one day was over N3billion, he said.
According to the NDLEA spokesman, three weeks after the seizure, Kyaris IRT team transferred only 12 Cartons of the Tramadol with one truck and a suspect to the Lagos Command of the NDLEA, leaving 190 cartons unaccounted for.
He added that after over eight months of following the lead, the anti-narcotic officers of the Agency eventually arrested Ukatu at the Lagos airport on 13th April 2022.
Kyari and four top members of his team are already facing trial for a different but similar offence at a Federal High Court in Abuja.
